She Says… Night Away: Part II

So Saturday morning arrived. Owen seemed MUCH happier after a good night’s sleep and his first two doses of medicine. No signs of stomach bug or impending doom, so we spent the morning cleaning up, changing sheets and doing laundry. By late morning Grammy and Grampy arrived and I began to tell Owen how much fun he was going to have while subconsciously preparing him that Daddy and I were both leaving. “Do you want Grammy to read you all of your favorite books? Grammy and Grampy are going to play with you all day, and then give you a bath, and they are going to put you to bed. And they’ll be there when you wake up too! So fun!”. He seemed to get what I was saying and although he whined whenever I got to the part about how Daddy and I were leaving just for the night, he was totally fine.

I wrote out instructions and packed up his meals like I do for school days. I laid out pajamas and play clothes and coat/hat/boot/mitten combos for going to the playground. Overkill? Yes. Probably. But it also helped me feel like everything would go smoothly when we left.

And you know what? It did. It went totally smoothly.

Grammy and Grampy and Owen went to the playground and took walks. They ate. They played guitar. They played with trucks. They built towers with blocks. They changed diapers and did bathtime and even brushed and flossed his teeth. They put him to bed and, undoubtedly, everyone slept really, really well. Toddlers are tiring!

Benjamin and I started our date with a quick trip to Target. Romantic, no? But anyone with a toddler can attest to the fact that going to Target without them is WAY easier, so we took advantage of the free babysitting and ran our errands. After Target was Starbucks for a little “better wake up, fun night ahead” coffee, and then on to the Ritz.

The hotel was lovely. I mean, it is the Ritz, after all. After a nice afternoon we got dressed up and headed out for a fancy schmancy and utterly delicious steak dinner. Seriously, one of the best meals we’ve ever had. And then moved on to two different bars we’ve been wanting to try to meet up with various groups of friends. It was SO fun to be out without worrying about paying a babysitter at home or wondering if Owen got to bed ok. Y’all would have been proud — we didn’t even call to check in!

After our late night, the fact we didn’t have a toddler to wake us up and the amazing beds at the Ritz, you would have thought we would get the best night’s sleep ever. WRONG. I woke up at 4am to go pee and could not, for the life of me, get back to sleep. I don’t know what was wrong with me — maybe it was that caffeinated coffee? I always drink decaf these days since caffeine really affects me. In any case, there I was… wide awake at 4am and twiddling my thumbs until Benjamin woke up. Sunday morning we had planned to have breakfast in bed and enjoy our toddler-free time, but to be honest Benjamin wasn’t feeling great (a little too much fun the night before, perhaps?) and I just wanted a bagel and my baby. So we headed home.

When we arrived, Grammy, Grampy, Owen and Schnitzel were out at the playground. When they came home, there wasn’t any big drama when Owen saw us. It was like, “Oh, hey mom! I’m having such a fun day!”, which was totally awesome. No big drama when Grammy and Grampy left, either. Huge success! Owen is such a resilient, easygoing kid.

So, despite the rocky start, our first night away was, all-in-all, a lot easier than I expected. Makes me confident we can do it again soon!

@Kara, We do floss. At Owen’s first appointment the dentist said that it’s really important to just start introducing the idea of flossing by “playing” at it now, so that it’s part of the routine in the future when it’s a bigger deal. Owen’s teeth are beginning to touch (really only the front two on the bottom touch), but since we’ve been doing it every night I’d say we actually get the floss in there about twice a week. Better than nothing, I suppose.

My favorite part of this post is your note about Owen’s routine! I have typed instruction sheets for every possible situation (if baby-sitter will be there for bedtime, naptime, lunch, dinner, etc.) and I include all of the details about tantrums, ways to soothe, etc. Yeah, I’m a little OCD….Of course, all of those instruction sheets are out the window now that we have two!!! We haven’t left the two of them with anyone other than my mother, who takes care of both of them two days a week, so she’s a pro now! (And I still leave her instructions every morning!) I can’t even imagine how lengthy and detailed my notes will be as I try to explain to someone else how to take care of both of them! Glad you guys had a fun night away!